Series 2
* George Carlin |no_of_episodes=26 |released=24 September 1986 - 17 December 1986 |previous=Season 1 |next=Season 3}} The '''second season' of Thomas & Friends premiered on 24 September 1986 in the UK. Ringo Starr narrated all twenty-six episodes in the UK as well as twenty-six episodes of them on Shining Time Station, with George Carlin later re-narrating all of the episodes for the US. Production The majority of the stories were originally written by the Rev. W. Awdry. However, Christopher Awdry was commissioned to write a new Railway Series book as source material for the second series. Three stories (originally only two) from More About Thomas the Tank Engine provided additional roles for Bertie the Bus, Terence the Tractor, and Harold the Helicopter. The episodes Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree and Thomas and Trevor were both one-off stories written by Christopher Awdry. Early in production, a third episode called The Missing Coach based on a story from The Twin Engines was due to be filmed. The model crew had gone as far as filming scenes on the Tidmouth Station set with Thomas arriving at the station, before Britt Allcroft decided the episode had too little action and its storyline would be too difficult to understand by younger viewers. Therefore one of the episodes based on a story from More About Thomas the Tank Engine, Thomas, Percy and the Coal was filmed to replace it. Episodes Cancelled episodes Characters * Thomas * Edward * Henry * Gordon * James * Percy * Toby * Annie and Clarabel * Henrietta * Terence * Bertie * Sir Topham Hatt * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster * Jeremiah Jobling * Mrs. Kyndley * Stephen Hatt * Bridget Hatt * Farmer Finney * The Ffarquhar Policeman * The Storyteller * The Little Boys * One of the stone-dropping boys * Earnest Characters Introduced * Duck * Donald and Douglas * Bill and Ben * Diesel * Daisy * BoCo * The Spiteful Brake Van * Trevor * Harold * Jem Cole * The Vicar of Wellsworth * The Barber * Daisy's Fitter * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Wife * The Careless Cleaner * Three Engine Inspectors * Father Christmas * Percy's Ghost Engine * The Naughty Boys * The Lady with the Floppy Green Hat * The Enthusiasts * The Ffarquhar Stationmaster's Children * Harold's Pilots * The Firelighter * British Railways Diesels * The Mainland Diesels * Sam the Farmer Trivia * This was the first of a few things: ** The first season filmed at Shepperton Studios. ** The first season where trucks have resin faces. ** The first season to use stories by Christopher Awdry. ** The first season to have an episode not based off of a story from the Railway Series, with that being Thomas and Trevor. ** The first season to have diesel locomotives. ** The first season to have a female engine. * This was the final season of several things: ** Ringo Starr's last season as narrator. ** Robert D. Cardona's last season as producer. ** Britt Allcroft's last season as executive producer until the sixth season. ** The last season made by Clearwater Features. ** The last season in which music was composed using the Roland Jupiter 6 synthesiser. ** The last to use the nameboards in the UK. However, the nameboards would last up to Season 4 for the US and Japan. ** The last season where the end credits would roll over the final shot of an episode. ** The last season not to have any Music Videos ** The last season until the seventeenth season to feature the same narrator for both the UK and US for the majority of the season, excluding episodes selected for New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures which were narrated by Michael Angelis and the original recordings for the twelfth season which were narrated by Pierce Brosnan. * The Missing Coach was originally going to be an episode in this season, but it was cancelled and replaced by Thomas, Percy and the Coal/Double Trouble. The Missing Coach was only halfway through production when the whole thing was cancelled. An interview in 2008 stated that David Mitton had the footage from The Missing Coach. The whereabouts of this footage is still unknown. * This is the only season where a character says "Shut Up!" This is likely due to broadcasting concerns after this season. * Starting from the episode, Pop Goes the Diesel, the laughing sound effect from the trucks was heard. That sound effect was later reused in the following seasons. * Henry regains his wheel arches, which were removed when he received his new shape after his accident with The Flying Kipper. * The biggest space of time between two seasons airing is between this season, which aired in 1986, and Season 3, which did not air until 1992, six years later. * When first broadcast on ITV, two episodes were compiled into one ten minute block with the nameboard sequence featured in between. For subsequent broadcasts, the stories were shown individually. * In the Ukrainian narration, Ringo Starr's voice can still be heard in the background. * The Norwegian and Finnish versions credit Ringo Starr as the narrator, even though they were re-dubbed in Norwegian and Finnish respectively. de:Staffel 2 es:Temporada 2 he:העונה השנייה ja:第2シーズン pl:Seria 2 zh:第2季 Category:Thomas & Friends Category:Seasons